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Injuries and danger to life are likely during the 80mph winds set to hit parts of the UK this weekend in the first named storm of the season.
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning over the powerful winds as Storm Ashley hits the northwest of Scotland on Sunday. A yellow warning relating to the very strong winds has been issued for all of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and parts of Wales and northwest England.
The more severe amber warning will be in force from 9am on Sunday until midnight, and the yellow alert between 3am and midnight.
A further yellow alert for heavy rain was also issued in south Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and parts of Dorset and Somerset between 3am and midday on Sunday. Between 15 and 25mm of rain is expected to fall in most affected areas, rising to up to 65mm on Dartmoor.
Gusts of 80mph could hit north-west Scotland and “injuries and danger to life is likely from large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and properties”, the Met Office said.
There is a “good chance” of power cuts in the area which could impede mobile phone coverage and cause damage to buildings, the office said, warning of tiles blowing off roofs.
Disruption or cancellations to road, rail, air and ferry services are likely, as well as road and bridge closures.
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Sunday’s Great South Run has been cancelled because of high winds and rain expected from the storm.
Great Run, which organises the annual 10-mile race in Portsmouth, Hampshire, said weather conditions had not improved to a point where they could “safely stage” the event.
Organisers said the forecasted winds could compromise “event infrastructure, including our medical facilities” and that high tide levels, exposure along the seafront sections of the route and “potential debris” posed safety concerns.
On Friday evening, Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: “At the time of recording, Storm Ashley is on the other side of the Atlantic and a relatively shallow area of low pressure.
“It deepens rapidly as it gets picked up by the jet stream during Saturday and ends up as a particularly deep area of low pressure, with a widespread swathe of gales and wind gusts in excess of 60mph for many western and northern parts of the country.”
Clouds will thicken and wind will strengthen in the early hours of Sunday, and outbreaks of rain will hit Northern Ireland and the west of the UK, he said.
Western parts of the UK could wake up to 50mph to 60mph winds and heavy rain that day, particularly affecting exposed coasts and hills.
Sunday’s strongest winds will sweep exposed parts of Northern Ireland and western Scotland, with 70mph gusts likely.
They could reach 80mph “or perhaps a fraction more” in parts of western Scotland, Mr McGivern added.
He said: “Those kinds of wind gusts could cause considerable disruption, damage to buildings, transport disruptions of the ferry crossings, for example.
“And also the risk to coastal communities of flooding because these winds coincide with high tides, so that risk is especially great.”
The winds will continue through Sunday and peak in the evening, he added.
The Environment Agency has issued 41 active flood warnings in England, meaning flooding is expected, and 132 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible. The warnings include multiple areas of the River Severn, the south Cornwall coast and the Wye Estuary.
In Scotland, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued 16 flood warnings and a further 17 alerts, as far afield as Stonehaven, Ayr and Grangemouth. Some 13 alerts have been issued in Wales, eight of them on the country’s south coast and three on the west.
It is expected that Storm Ashley will clear on Monday, but Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said the continuation of powerful gale-force winds through to Monday morning means “fallen debris and trees” could impact commuters at the start of the week.
A final weather alert will be in force in Scotland from the north of Fort William from midnight on Saturday until 9am on Monday.
Police Scotland has urged motorists not to make unnecessary journeys this weekend, while Transport Scotland warned of likely disruptions to public transport, including the country’s ferry network.
A statement said: “A windy period is expected across the whole of the UK on Sunday and into Monday, but across parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, north-west England and north-west Wales there is an increased chance of some disruption.
“These strong winds in conjunction with high spring tides may cause some disruption.”
Families travelling during the October school holidays have been urged to keep an eye out for cancellations.
Additional reporting from the Press Association
